The head of operations in the Americas for Spain's biggest bank Santander resigned on Wednesday, said the company, which owes him a pension of 59 million euros.

"Francisco Luzon has announced his voluntary resignation as an executive board member of Banco Santander and head of the bank's Americas division," said Santander, the eurozone's biggest bank by market capitalisation.

According to its annual report for 2010, Luzon had accumulated a pension of 59.95 million euros ($77 million) plus 9.9 million euros' worth of other bonuses.

"The bank wishes to express its recognition of the extraordinary work Francisco Luzon has carried out in his 15 years as an executive board member," Santander said in a statement.

It cited in particular "his work in the Americas Division, which was crucial in building the franchise in Latin America."

When he joined that division in 1999 it logged profits of 546 million euros, growing to 4.8 billion in 2010.

He is replaced at the head of the division by Jesus Zabalza, another senior executive vice president, the statement said.

Spain's banking sector has undergone a major restructuring after it was shaken by the collapse of a housing boom in 2008.

Figures from the central bank on Wednesday showed the level of bad loans held by Spanish banks hit a new 17-year high in November, a fresh sign of weakness in the battered sector.

Picture: Jesus Zabalza in Luque, Paraguay (AFP)